Whenever I run across a book with a jack-o-lantern on the cover, there's a really good chance I will buy it. That pretty much sums up how I got my hands on the 1992 horror novel Hell-O-Ween by David Robbins.
When I write reviews, I typically do a little research on the authors if I'm not already familiar with their writings. To my shock, I learned David Robbins has written many westerns under several pen names, including Ralph Compton, David Thompson, and Jon Sharpe. More than likely I have probably read one or two of his westerns. David has always written several other horror novels, including Prank Night and The Wraith.
Hell-O-Ween centers around eight high school students going into the "Caverna del Diablo" (a.k.a. The Cavern of the Devil) late at night to play a cruel trick on the class nerd. However, things go horribly wrong and six of the eight teenagers are murdered by 7' tall nude demons.
Final Thoughts
By just glancing at the cover, you would never believe the entire book involves a group of teenagers being chased by demons in a cavern for 366 pages. But that's the plot!!!! Yeah, it sounds like a really bad '80s horror flick, which there's nothing wrong with that as I love watching those types of movies.
All the characters are stereotyped and two-dimensional at best. The jocks talk and act like the macho jerks, the cheerleaders don't have any sense in their noggins, and the nerdy girl is the typical "Hollywood" version of a geek.
The dialogue is very outdated, even for 1992 when the novel was original published.
As for the horror, there's plenty of it. There's many bloody and gory death scenes. And there's lots of sex. Once again, this reminds of the '80s horror flicks where the #1 rule is "If you have sex, you're going to die."
Overall, Hell-O-Ween would have made a much better screenplay than an actually novel. The characters are unlikable and boring. The only intriguing aspects are the very detailed grizzly death descriptions. If you're a die hard horror, then you might enjoy this horror fluff but other readers will be turned off.
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I value the input of my readers and welcome their engagement. However, in order to maintain a constructive dialogue, I will be moderating comments to remove any spam, excessively critical remarks, or contributions that do not enhance the discussion. I appreciate your understanding in this matter and look forward to receiving your insightful feedback.